Off-the-road tire building method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for building tires, such as new off-the-road tires, on a drum arrangement whereby a strip of rubber is placed thereon as the drum continually rotates. The apparatus includes an application and sensing arm which guides the material onto the drum in a predetermined pattern in accordance with a straight line template. The application and sensing arm moves in a straight line across the surface of the building drum to build a tire contour in accordance with the template configuration. The apparatus is portable and may be removed from a building station when not required and thus used to serve a number of building stations.

United States Patent 3/1963 Hanson ..l56/ l 30 Hineline Feb. 13, 1973 [54] OFF-THE-ROAD TIRE BI III ,DING 3,355,135 gielckmann et a]. ..l56/397 3, ,7 l 0 man METHOD AND APPARATUS 3,023,135 2/1962 Wiltshire ..l56/l95 [75] Inventor: Robert E. Hineline, Akron, Ohio Primary ExaminerStephen C. Bentley [73] Assignee' AMF Incorporated Attorney-George W. Price and Richard A. Joel [22] Filed: April 9, 1970 57 ABSTRA T [21] Appl. No.: 31,445 1 C Apparatus for building tires, such as new off-the-road Related U-S- Applic i n Data tires, on a drum arrangement whereby a strip of [62] Division Of Set. N0. 656,283, July 26, 1967, Pat. N6. rubber placed as the drum .cmltmuany rotates. The apparatus includes an application and 3,549,442.

sensing arm which guides the material onto the drum in a predetermined pattern in accordance with a [52] US. Cl. ..156/397, 156/351, 156/360, straight line template The application and Sensing 156/361 156/405 156/408 arm moves in a straight line across the surface of the [5]] lift. Cl. ..B29h 17/36 il drum to build a the contour in accordance Fleld 0f Search "156/95, 96, the template configuration The apparatus is 394, 405, portable and may be removed from a building station 410 when not required and thus used to serve a number of building stations. [56] References Cited 11 Cla ms, 10 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS PATENTED FEB] 1 3 SHEET 30F 4 INVENTOR. ROBERT E. H/NEL/NE ATTORNEY proximately the center portion of the drum 12. A sensing head 44 is mounted to the arm 14 below the application head 17 with the sensing rollers 46 being aligned with the trailing edge of the strip 13. The

sensing head 44 which will be described later in greater detail includes a cam follower 45 which follows the outline of the template 16. The sensing head 44 continuously contacts both the template and the applied strip 13 and actuates a motor 72 to move the arm 14 when the desired thread contour has been reached at the particular position on the tire. The applied strip 13 makes an approximately 330 wrap before the sensing roll 46 senses the increase in gage. Since the tire building drum 12 is generally concentric, no spin switch such as employed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 576,888, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,408 is required. The traversing movement of the arm 14 is halted when a switch 48 located on the sensing head opens signifying that the finished tread contour has not been reached at that particular point.

The template 16 is mounted on a member 49 and held in position by one or more locking members 51. The locking members 51 include a handle portion 52 which may be readily gripped to either secure or release the template 16 from the member 49. In the ordinary instance, the template 16 will be full size and may be dismounted in order to compare the template contour with that of the finished tire. A variety of templates 16 may be stored in a particular plant in order to permit the manufacture of various tire gages with the same equipment. The apparatus as described herein may be used in conjunction with drums 12 which vary from about 32 inches in diameter to about 62 inches in diameter.

The invention as thus described may comprise a portable unit which includes a frame portion 53 which is supported by a plurality of rollers 54. The apparatus may be readily located in a building position by rolling said apparatus'into position using the transporting handle arrangement 56. When the unit is properly positioned the four floor jacks 57a and 57b engage predetermined apertures 58a and 58b in the floor plate 59. The two forward floor jacks 57a include threaded shafts 6l which engage threaded apertures 58a in the floor plate 59. The rear floor jacks 57b include pins 62 which engage the apertures 58b in the floor plate 59. This arrangement is more clearly shown in FIG. 4 which also illustrates rollers 54 mounted on shaft 63 and journaled at its ends in bearing arrangements 64. The floor jack portions 57a and 57b extend outwardly from the frame portions 53 and the rear floor jacks include a position lock 66.

The application and sensing arm is slidably mounted on a pair of guide rails 67 and is driven back and forth therealong by a drive screw 68 which engages a downwardly extending portion 69 on the base 71 of the arm 14. The drive means for the arm 14 comprise a motor 72 which may be mounted within the control panel 73 at one end of the apparatus and coupled to the screw 68 through a gear reduction means 74. In a typical embodiment the motor may comprise a one-fourth horsepower DC. motor and the gear reduction arrangement may be on a 10:1 ratio. A typical drive screw may comprise a 1 inch ball screw having a A inch pitch. Since a l:l gear reduction does not provide self-locking, an A.C. brake may be provided in the subject embodiment. Furthermore, since an A.C. brake is not rated for the number of stops that will normally occur during operation, a dynamic braking resister may be used for stopping in cooperation with a time delay relay which activates the A.C. brake for static holding, see FIG. 8.

The sensing head 44 as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 comprises a frame portion 76 which is mounted to the application and sensing arm 14. A cam follower 45 is mounted to the slide 77 at one end thereof and is maintained in continuous contact with the template 16. In fact, a second roller 78 also rides on the template 16. The slide 77 is connected to a rack 79 which moves back and forth in accordance with the template configuration. I

A sensing roller 46 and a stitching roller 47 are mounted to the air cylinders 81 and 82 respectively at the other end of the sensing head 44. A switch 48 is mounted to be engaged by an adjustable stop 83. When the sensing switch 48 is closed the drive motor 72 is activated to cause the application and sensing arm to move along the guide rails 67 until the switch 48 is opened. The arm 14 remains in place as layers of ribbon 13 are applied to the drum casing 11 until the sensing roller 46 closes the sensing switch 48. This sequence is continuously repeated in order to build the desired tire contour. In operation, the sensing roller 46 is positioned in line with the trailing edge of the applied rubber ribbon 13 and the sensing switch is provided with a differential travel of approximately one thirtysecond of an inch. A stop limit switch may be provided on the sensing arm to ride on the template 16 in order to stop the program.

The sensing head is also provided with a hand adjustment 84 which includes a handle 86 coupled to a spring-loaded shaft 87 to initially position the sensing roller 46 according to an indication which appears on the scale 87.

Referring to the electrical drawings of FIGS. 8 and 9 the spin switch 89, if provided, is closed once during each revolution and if at that time the sensing switch 48 is open, control relay CR-2 will not be operated. Relay CR-2 controls the drive motor 72 which moves the application arm 14 in a straight line opposite the drum surface. Consequently, the motor 72 will not be operated if the sensing switch 48 is open and the application arm l4 will continue to apply the rubber strip 13 to the same portion of the tire casing 11. On the other hand, the sensing switch 48 will close if the sensing roller detects adequate gage on the casing surface corresponding to the template configuration. The drive motor 72 will be operated by the closing of the spin switch 89 which locks across contacts 91 of relay CR-2 causing the roller 46 to move across the strip surface OFF-THE-ROAD TIRE BUILDING METHOD AND APPARATUS This is a division of application Ser. No. 656,283, filed July 26, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,442

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to tire manufacture and particularly to an apparatus for applying a predetermined tread thickness to a green tire casing. The present invention is particularly suited to'the manufacture of new off-the-road tires and while portions of a similar machine and process are broadly disclosed in my prior filed co-pending application Ser. No. 576,888, filed Sept. 14, 1965 now US. Pat. No. 3,497,408, the present invention discloses in detail a new and improved method and apparatus to produce new off-theroad tires. This requires a distinctly different machine from the retread tire machine since new tires are produced on a rotating stationary drum rather than a movable hub.

Other apparatus for building a tire tread by applying a ribbon to a base structure are disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 3,268,380 to L. J. Guichon et al., US. Pat. No. 3,223,572 to R. L. Holloway et al., and US. Pat. No. 3,177,918 to R. G. Holman. The present invention, however, is custom designed to produce a particular product such as new off-the-road tires and is readily distinguishable over the aforementioned patents. There is no machine which currently produces off-the-road tires in the unique and economical manner which applicant proposes herein. Furthermore, the apparatus of the present invention is a portable, self-contained unit which can be moved to any drum station in a manufacturing facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the object of this invention is to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for producing new off-the-road tires.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the present invention pertains to a unique method and apparatus for producing tires such as large size off the-road tires. The apparatus comprises a drum arrangement whereby a strip of rubber is positioned thereon as the drum continually rotates. The apparatus includes an application and sensing arm which guides the extruded material onto the rotating drum in accordance with a predetermined straight line template. During the tire building operation the application and sensing arm moves in a straight line across the surface of the building drum to build a tire contour in accordance with the template configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the present invention will be more clearly understood when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the new and improved apparatus of the present invention for producing off-theroad tires;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the subject apparatus with portions omitted in order to more clearly illustrate the operation thereof and with the movement of the application and sensing arm shown in phantom;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a broken-away view of the base portion of the apparatus taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the sensing head arrangement;

FIG. 6 is a side view of said sensing arm arrangement;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the sensing arm arrangement;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the electrical circuit employed in the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates the electrical circuit for the drum control arrangement; and,

FIG. 10 illustrates the pneumatic control circuit for the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, the invention comprises an apparatus for building new off-the-road tires 10 on a base structure such as a green tire casing 11 which is mounted on a drum arrangement 12. A strip of rubber 13 which is locally extruded from a cold feed extruder, not shown, is placed upon the drum 12 in a predetermined manner in order to form the finished tire contour which is shown in phantom in FIG. 1. The apparatus includes an application and sensing arm 14 which guides the strip 13 onto the drum 12 in accordance with a straight line template 16. The application and sensing arm 14 moves in a straight line across the surface of the rotating building drum 12 to build a tire contour conforming to the template configuration. As the strip 13 is applied to the casing 11 by a application head 17 mounted on the arm 14, it is continuously monitored by a sensing head 18 which is also mounted on the arm 14 in a fixed relation to the application head 17.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the extruded strip 13 is fed to the tire building machine by means of an overhead conveyor not shown which includes a gate or other means for feeding the strip to the building apparatus. Since the present apparatus is self-contained and portable in nature it may be used to feed several machines from a single cold feed extruder. In the illustrated embodiment, the strip ,13 passes over roller 19 which is mounted on bracket 21 and then onto roller 22 which is mounted on the pivotal bracket arrangement 23. The strip 13 passes over the pivotal dancer roller 24 mounted on dancer arm 26 at one end and affixed to the swivel bracket 27 which in turn is coupled to a potentiometer arm arrangement 28 for regulating the speed of the drum 12 to prevent excess slack from accumulating in the strip feed.

Roller 22 is coupled to roller 29 on the potentiometer arrangement 28 by means of the telescoping arm 31 which is coupled at its ends 32 and 33 to the respective rollers 29 and 22 through the bearing arrangements 34 and 36 respectively. Thus, the rollers 22 and 29 are maintained in a parallel relationship while the application and sensing arm 14 traverses the drum 12. A counter weight arm 37 is also provided for the dancer arrangement.

The strip 13 passes over roller 38 which is mounted to the application head 17 by means of bracket 39 and is then fed to the plurality of application rollers 41 which apply the strip to the casing 11. A plurality of stitching rollers 42 mounted in the retractable stitching head 43 stitch the rubber strip to the casing 11 at ap- 

1. In an apparatus for applying a strip of tread material to a rotating tire casing, the combination comprising: means for feeding the strip of tread material to the rotating tire casing, means for applying the tread material to the casing, a template representative of the tread configuration to be applied to the casing, means for sensing the tread material after it is applied to the casing and for sensing the template configuration, and, drive means for moving the tread material feeding means along the tire casing in one direction only during the tread application operation, and control means for said drive means responsive to the means for sensing the tread material and the means for sensing the template, said control means being operable to cause said drive means to move the tread material feeding means along the tire casing only when the thickness of the tread material at a particular site along the casing corresponds to that set by the template.
 2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the means for feeding the strip of material to the tire casing comprises means for supplying a strip of material and a plurality of rollers for guiding said strip to the rotating tire casing.
 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the means for applying the tread to the tire casing comprises an application and sensing arm having an application head mounted on said arm, the application head including a plurality of application and stitching rollers for applying the tread to the tire casing, and, the means for sensing the tread material comprises a sensing head mounted on said arm in predetermined relation to the application head to sense the tread material after it has been applied to the casing.
 4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein: the sensing head comprises a cam arrangement, a template having a predetermined configuration engaged by said cam arrangement, a rack mounted to said cam arrangement and a switch mounted to the rack at the opposite end thereof, said switch being engaged by the sensing roller as the tread builds up on the tire casing to activate the means responsive to the sensing means to drive the means for applying the strip of tread material transversely along the casing.
 5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3 further including: a frame portion having said application and sensing arm mounted thereon, a pair of guide rails engaging said frame portion, an elongated drive screw being coupled to said frame portion to drive said application and sensing arm back and forth along the guide rails opposite the tire casing.
 6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein: the frame portion includes means for rapidly mounting and locking said frame portion in position adjacent the tire casing.
 7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein: the means for rapidly mounting and locking said frame portion in position adjacent to tire casing comprises a plurality of floor jacks, a floor plate adjacent the tire casing having spaced apertures therein, said floor jacks including means for engaging the apertures in the floor plate comprising a first pair of threaded members for engaging the apertures in said floor plate and a second pair of pins for engaging apertures in the floor plate, said locking means comprising a pivotal member for locking said pins in position.
 8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein: the frame portion includes a first and second pair of rollers, a first and second shaft having the respective pairs of rollers mounted thereon, said shafts being journaled at their end portions to the frame to provide means for moving said application and sensing head into a tire building position adjacent a rotatable tire casing.
 9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the means responsive to the sensing means for moving the feeding means comprises switch means activated by the sensing means when the required thread contour is reached at the point being sensed on the tire casing and a relay control circuit operated by said switching means to actuate the feeding means to move transversely across the casing surface until the switching means is inactivated.
 10. Apparatus for applying a strip of rubber or the like to a rotating casing, which comprises: means for feeding a strip of rubber, means for applying the rubber strip to the rotating casing, a template representative of the configuration of the rubber to be applied to the rotating casing, drive means for moving the rubber strip application means in one direction along the axis of the casing, means for sensing the point on the template that corresponds to the location along the axis of the casing where the rubber strip is being applied, means for sensing when a sufficient amount of rubber strip has been applied to the casing at said location to conform to the program defined by the template, and means for causing the drive means to move the rubber strip application means along the casing only in response to the actuation of said last named sensing means. 